Rund Abdelfatah

Route 66 turns 100 this year. It's considered America’s most nostalgic road trip. With wide open road, sunsets that fill the whole sky, dirt-kissed Chevy trucks, and revving motorcycles. But Route 66 started out as a muddy road to nowhere. Today on the show, we’ll meet a league of gilded-age bicyclists, a ragtag gang of cross-country runners, and the very stubborn highway commissioner who turned it into the “Main Street of America.”Guests:Susan Croce Kelly, author of Father of Route 66 and Route 66: the Highway and its PeopleSupport shows like Throughline with NPR+. Sign up today at plus.npr.org.

We think of Walmart as ultra-American, but its business relationship with China has fundamentally changed how American retail operates. In this episode, how one retailer helped turn China into the world’s factory, eventually becoming the single largest U.S. importer of Chinese consumer goods. Guest:Eileen Otis, Associate Professor of Sociology at Northeastern University and author of Walmart: Made in China Support shows like Throughline with NPR+. Sign up today at plus.npr.org.

From impoverishment to global superpower, China's supremacy happened at a breakneck speed thanks to the visionary strategy of the man who took power in 1978.

In our final installment of AP250, how We Shall Overcome became the anthem of generations of protestors.

For generations, the SAT has loomed large in the lives of teenagers. The quest for a perfect or near-perfect score has filled many test takers with dread. In this episode, a listener's question makes us wonder... who decided the SAT was the best and brightest way to filter students? And how did it become the pathway to higher education in America?Guests:Nicholas Lemann, author of The Big Test and Higher AdmissionsSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

For generations, the SAT has loomed large in the lives of teenagers. The quest for a perfect or near-perfect score has filled many test takers with dread.

In 1966, the federal government commissioned a massive survey aimed at solving educational inequality. Instead, the explosive Coleman Report unleashed a 60-year debate over race, resources, and what education in America is actually for. This is the story of how the report came together… and the policy whirlwind that followed.Guests:Victoria Cain, Associate Professor of History, Northwestern University Thomas Kane, Walter H. Gale Professor of Education and Economics, Harvard University Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

In 1966, the federal government commissioned a massive survey aimed at solving educational inequality. Instead, the explosive Coleman Report unleashed a 60

Power looms being used in textile manufacturing during the Industrial Revolution. Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption

Major League Baseball’s postseason is just a few weeks away, and here on Throughline we know the power of a good walk-up song. But how did baseball become such a musical sport? And where did the idea for walk up-music come from? Guests:John Thorn, author and Official Baseball Historian for Major League BaseballNancy Faust, former organist for the Chicago White SoxSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.